What Makes A Dragon
by Kawaii Kitty
Summary: Draco Malfoy has finished his fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and has finished not according to the standards of father, Lucius Malfoy. Draco is in for one heck of a summer.
1. Another Summer Begins

What Makes A Dragon?

By Kawaii Kitty

Chapter 1

Another Summer Begins.

Another year at Hogwarts gone by, and another year without the House Cup. Four years in a row, not good for the house of Slytherin's reputation one bit. Not good for my Father's ego, either. As soon as he spotted me in the train station platform stepping off of the train, I could tell that I would be in for a rough summer by just the look in his cold gray eyes. 

In the shelter of our carriage, where the two of us sat opposite of each other, my father begin to tear into me with his harsh, large vocabulary.

"I heard about the House Cup through the Daily Prophet, Draco." His bitter, deep voice said to me accusingly. I lowered my head and shifted my eyes away from him shamefully, even though I could feel the full force of them burning into my very soul. We sat in a VERY uncomfortable silence for about thirty seconds. "Well?" he said accusingly.

"What of it?" I glanced at him for a moment. "You already know all about it, so why are you asking me?" by the time I had uttered the first syllable; I knew I had made the wrong move and my queen was about to be taken. 

"I want to know why you failed _again,_ Draco." He said callously. I shifted my eyes back toward him, keeping it at the base of his staff, the limited sunlight in the carriage glinting off the silver. "You are a MALFOY. A Malfoy does NOT fail under any circumstances. None whatsoever, especially to those who associate with Mudbloods." 

Anyone at school would have attacked him at the usage of such a word. He was referring to those students at school who became witches or wizards by complete fluke, not a drop of magical blood in their veins. The term was very vulgar, as I had found when I had used it. My father had managed to work it into his regular lexis without much resistance from anyone else. 

"Yes, Father." I said a bit under my breath in answer to his ranting. I had gotten used to this type of thing. All he did was dictate to me about how everything I ever did was wrong. One time, he even had the guts to tell me that I was a mistake. All I could do was sit there and take it. Had I even thought about talking back to him, he would hex me to make me feel as if I would have maggots eating away at me beneath my skin. 

"Draco, you have no idea about the destiny you are expected to live up to!" he said, his look on me intensifying tenfold. I nodded, having heard this speech fifty times or more. "You are destined to aid the Dark Lord in the re-claiming of this world and the enslavement of the Muggles!"

I looked up at him, my eyes showing annoyance. "Why should I follow in his footsteps?" I asked.

"Because it is the vocation of your future." He gave me a small smirk that sent ice down my spine. His words sickened me. I shot him a look of dislike, which made him quirk an eyebrow at me. "Hm? Did you have something to say to me, Draco?"

I knew better than to say anything. Deciding to maintain my well-polished dignity and pride, I stifled myself before I could say one of the thousands of things that shot through my mind at that moment. I knew that if I had chosen to speak, the head of his staff would have a permanent residence in my skull. I sighed softly and shook my head. "No, sir. I do not." I muttered, a tone of irritation in my voice. 

He nodded. "Good." He said. He then lifted his staff and lifted my head with the head of his staff, exposing my long neck. "My, my, Draco…" he said, looking my form over. "If I do say so myself, you've got all of the makings of what truly creates a Malfoy…"

I hated being compared to him. He made me sick, to be truthful. There was just…something about him that I couldn't quite put my finger on.  I jerked my head from the cold head of the snake that sat on his staff, glaring at him defiantly. "Take that back."

I raised an eyebrow and sat back. "You cannot deny the truth, Draco." He said, widening his smirk so that he allowed me to look at his teeth, most notably, his perfectly curved and maintained canines. It was as if he had been attacked by a vampire and wanted to take me as his next victim. "You are a Malfoy, destined to carry on this family's name, keeping it-"

"Pure, I know." I finished for him. I snorted and looked to the side. "You think I would actually marry a Mudblood, Father?" I looked at the passing scenery the best I could through the drawn curtains. "They're disgusting. Every last one of them."

I could feel him smile. I was almost glad I wasn't looking at him. When he smiled, it meant that he wanted something, and I wasn't about to give him that… thing… I still shudder as I think about that smile… it was cruel and malicious, and yes, even charming. Those smiles made me hate him the most, bringing back to me all of the horrible things that they meant in the past. 

Once again, he reached out his staff and pulled my head toward him. "I've taught you well, haven't I, Draco?" I studied his face, and then nodded wordlessly. "You should be thinking that way. Those filthy Mudbloods are the scourge of this earth, destroying the definition of magic."

I nodded. At least there was one thing we could agree on. "Yes, Father." As I spoke, the head of the snake was tracing my jaw. I then swallowed nervously, causing him to run the staff down my neck. I shuddered for a moment and closed my eyes to keep myself from looking him in the eye. If I had, he knew that he had me. I felt the snake now move down my chest, leaving a cold trail of my father's wants in its wake. 

'_No, Draco… Stop this… Have dignity, have pride… don't let yourself revert to his little servant. Not again. Not again, dammit._' I thought to myself, my face muscles twitching as his staff traveled further down my front.

"No." I managed to choke out in a squeak. 

"Excuse me?" my father said, leaning in closer to me.

I maintained my firm expression, my eyes still closed. "I said… 'no'." I happened to get out again.

His gaze on me hardened, I'm sure. "Why won't you look me in the eyes, Draco?" he said in a calm, low voice. I bit the inside of my lip to keep myself from lashing out at him with my now finely toned wit. "Well? Are you afraid, boy?"

I swallowed and released my lip. "I. Fear. Nothing."

His smooth, black dragonhide gloves touching my jaw. "Really?" He gave a soft chuckle. "Then why won't you open your eyes?"

I gave a small breath, and then opened my eyes to meet my father's, which were no further than twenty centimeters from mine. I stared at them as hard as I could without the desire of making them explode. I repeated myself. "I. Fear. Nothing."

His smug look disappeared. "Well, you should fear me."

I felt a smirk flicker on my face. "But why should I have to, _dear father?_"

He shot me a look of pure disgust and released his hand from my face, only to have the back of it come and strike me across my face. "You will not be a smartass around me. Are we clear, Draco?"

I held my cheek and glared at him. "Crystal." I rubbed my cheek and then folded my arms, leaning back and staring at the curtains, avoiding my father's staring at me.

Why… Why oh why did I have to be born a Malfoy…?


	2. Unexpected Surprises

What Makes A Dragon?

By Kawaii Kitty

Chapter 2

Unexpected Surprises

After a few hours of uneasy silence, the carriage stopped. I could only assume we were home at last. My father allowed me to exit first to see the various servants we kept around the house standing in a very composed line outside of our house. Most of them were Squibs, people who came from magical families, but were homage to no magical properties. We felt they were easiest to have as servants, because they could not revolt against us. Standing in front of the group in a beautiful ivory dress cloak was my mother, Narcissa Malfoy.

As soon as I set foot on the cobblestone of the pathway to our manor, my mother came racing up to me. Before I could react, her arms were thrown around me in a tight hug. 

"Draco! I'm so glad you're home! I missed you!" she smiled at me and kissed both of my cheeks, then my wide forehead. "Did you do well in school? How was your trip back?" she asked me in an excited frenzy.

I stiffened in her grip and then looked back to my father, who was looking at me expectantly, ready to retort if I had said the wrong thing. I swallowed, and then turned back to my mother, a wide smile on my face. "Everything was brilliant, Mum." I could feel the tension from my father lessen some. 

My mother smiled and hugged me again. "Wonderful! Wonderful!" She let go of me and then walked to my father, hugging him as well. "How did things go at the Ministry, Lucius?"

My father shrugged. "Nothing particularly exciting, as far as I know. I won't be going in for a week or so. The council is taking a short leave."

My mother smiled happily. "That's wonderful, dear!" She smiled and hugged him again, then looked back at me. "Did you hear that, Draco? Your father will be home to help you with some of your homework!"

My blood ran to ice. '_Something tells me that that isn't going to be what he will be occupying his time with._' I nodded and gave another fake smile. "Fantastic! The things they have assigned for fourth/fifth year transition are really difficult."

I saw my father give a small grin. "Perfect. Then you'll be needing my assistance often, won't you?"

I stood straight and gave my father an emotionless expression. "I suppose."

My mother smiled and then let go of my father and placed my hand on my back, leading me inside. "Joelle, Lance, Cameron, get Draco's things from the carriage and bring them to his room at once." My mother called to three of our servants. A red-haired girl with a face adorned with freckles, a well-built blonde with shocking blue eyes, and a man in his middle ages ran toward the carriage, Joelle taking my owl, and the other two taking my trunk and walking toward the open doorway of our home that my mother was leading me to. 

As we approached the large, light green manor with light green trimmings around the roof overhang and the various balconies of our house. Joelle, Lance, and Cameron entered before the three of us, running up to my chambers on the second floor. As we entered, the gentle clicking of our shoes against the hard surface of the marble beneath our feet began. 

"So, Draco," my mother began as we stepped into the manor, "Have you found yourself a young lady yet?"

I thought for a moment. "Well… not really, Mum." I thought over my year at Hogwarts, and then gave her another smile. "Although, I did manage to take a girl to the Yule Ball. Pansy Parkinson, another fourth year."

My mother practically exploded with happiness. "That's so wonderful, Draco!" she looked to my father. "Did you hear that, Lucius? Draco has a girl he fancies!"

I felt my face flush a bit. "I don't really fancy her, Mum. I just took her to the dance. She didn't even dance. She just talked to her friends the whole time…"

The happiness on my mother's face diminished as soon as the words left my lips. I didn't like disappointing my mother, but I felt the truth had to be said in some sense. I couldn't lie to her about everything. I turned from my mother, putting my hands in the pockets of my cloak. 

"Forgive me… I'm going to my chambers." I said softly, not thinking of looking back. The discussion of love and girlfriends was always difficult to sit through with my parents, my father especially. I walked back toward the stairs, walking up them and almost enjoying the feel of carpet beneath my feet, even though it _was_ just a rug. I passed my parents above as they walked below, looking up at me. I could feel my father's cold stare focused on me. I didn't feel like being around him, not then, if ever. "Please… I just want to be left alone for a while." I said softly.

My mother spat syllables of protest at me, but my father silenced her, watching me go. I shook my head and placed my hand on the handle to my large chamber door. Opening it, I was welcomed by the familiar sight of my bedroom. Against the far left wall was a comfortable couch that I liked to sit on and think occasionally. It was pushed up against a tall window, which had a lovely view of the scenery around our manor. The wall on the far right had a large desk with a chair that I had picked out my first summer away from Hogwarts. The desk had a fair supply of eagle feather quills and several bottles of ink. Next to the desk were my school trunk and my owl's empty cage. I supposed one of the servants had let him fly when they brought him into the room. He was always fussy when kept confined for too long.

I looked to my large bed. It was a four-poster, not unlike the one I had at Hogwarts, but perhaps twice its size. The curtains around it were closed. Since it had been nine months since I last set my eyes on my bed, I couldn't remember if I shut it or not. I sighed softly and walked to it, taking the golden colored velvet cord into my thin pale hand and pulled it open. The sight that awaited me was that of a small girl with dangerously long black hair that fell over every curve of her body that it touched and finally fell onto my silk sheets. 

"What the hell?!" I exclaimed at the sight of her.

She raised her head and opened her eyes. They were thin, and, from what I could see, they were a dark brown, slanted downward a bit. She had a perfect complexion, rivaling my own, and a very wide forehead, which no hair came in contact with. Seeing me, she gasped and sat up very rigid onto her knees, her head bowed. 

"_G….Gomen nasai, Malfoy-senpai…_" she spoke. I hadn't a bloody idea what she was saying. "_W-watashi wa…. Ano…_" she continued. I shook my head, stumbling back in disbelief. 

A girl was in my room… a foreign girl, no less. She was on my bed… looking very tired… How was I going to explain _this_ to father?


	3. Reminiscing By The Lake

What Makes A Dragon?

By Kawaii Kitty

Chapter 3

Reminiscing By The Lake

A wonderful, eventful day. I had just arrived home from Hogwarts and been promised a lot more close time with my father, as well as finding a beautiful young girl sleeping on my bed in the middle of the afternoon! I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. The air in my chambers had thickened at least ten times over. The girl was sitting on my bed, spitting out sounds at me, a small blush apparent on her face. 

I looked her over, trying to figure out her lineage. Her body was clothed in a very fine silk robe that obviously originated from the Far East. It was dyed a very light pinkish color and had a thick belt high around the middle. I looked over her face and listened to her speech, but could not, for the life of me, tell her nationality. 

After a few minutes of her babbling, I raised my hand and she silenced immediately. I looked at her and took a step toward her, lifting her tiny, smooth chin up, examining her face closer. I could see that she had a small mole under her left eye. 

"Shush." I said quietly. I stared at her for a moment. I could tell she was nervous, as she was shaking at my touch. "Just… who _are_ you…?"

Her expression turned to that of a confused kitten. "_N… Nanio itteiruka wakaranaino..._" she said in a sweet, yet baffled voice.

I opened my mouth to speak when my door opened with a considerable amount of force. Both of our attention turned to the entrance to my room where my father stood. He looked at the girl and tapped the base of his staff on my floor. "_Kimiko_!_ Koko de_!"

The girl hopped off my bed and walked to my father and folded her hands in front of her, bowing to him. "_H-Hai, Malfoy-sama_."

The two of them talked and my jaw dropped. He…he seemed to be so cruel to her…I saw her point in various parts of the room as she spoke to my father. Once she was finished, she bowed her head once more and my father simply stared at her.

"_Yadosagari._" My father said angrily. The girl, lifted her head, gave a small smile and ran from the room as fast as she could manage.

I watched her curiously, and then looked up at my father. "Who… who was that…?" I asked quietly.

"She's one of our newer servants." He said plainly, looking out the door. "Her name is Kimiko."

"Oh…" I said I thought for a moment. "What did you say to her?"

He looked back at me. "Nothing of importance. I asked her what she was doing in here. She claims she was cleaning and got tired, so she fell asleep on your bed. I told her to take the rest of the day off…"

I gave my father an odd look. "That was unusually generous of you." I said, keeping quiet.

My father looked back at me, stern. "Your tongue is becoming rather sharp, Draco. I recommend that you file it down before it ends up cutting you."

I lowered my head slightly and looked away, "Yes, Father." I mumbled so quietly that I doubt he would hear it. I heard the door close behind my father and looked up, suddenly remembering his goals.

"Well, Draco, I suggest you break open your books. Your mother expects you to do better on your schoolwork this year." He said with a devious grin.

I couldn't hold back the shudder that overtook my body and the goose bumps that now covered my arms and back. I found my arms wrapped around myself as I backed into the room, as if trying to make myself shrink and disappear. My rear found my bed and I sat down upon the silken sheets. Damned conditioned reflexes. 

I felt the tip of my father's wand under my chin, lifting up my head to look at him. I opened my eyes to find my father's almost directly in front of mine. 

"You are turning out to be a handsome young man so far, aren't you...?" he said, that grin becoming more lewd and cruel as the seconds passed.  I swallowed hard, not finding the voice or courage to say anything. "Those bratty children at Hogwarts must be swarming all over you." He gave a soft chuckle and lowered his voice. "But… we won't let them, will we?"

I wanted to say something. I could have said something, if I had had the physical capabilities to do so. I only managed a short breath of air before his mouth covered mine. The bitter taste the haunted me each day while I was away at school attacked my senses. I winced and sat rigid, stiff, my hands gripping the side of the bed as if it were my only safety. For a moment, it was, well, before my father tried to push me back onto my bed.

I had had enough. One of my hands let go of the bed and pushed against my father's chest with surprising strength, knocking him back onto the floor. I stood up and looked at him for a moment, amazed at my handiwork. Without waiting another moment, I ran to my door and opened it, running down the hall and down the stairs before he could pull off a leg-locker curse or something. 

My mind was reeling. Did _I_ do that? It just didn't seem possible. He had always been so much stronger than I was. I felt a new sense of power coursing through my veins as I ran through the halls. But, the more I thought about it, the more I ended up regretting it. My mind kept floating back to what he would do once, or if, he caught up to me. I would have to face him again. There was no way I could fight him off, especially without magic. During the summer, I had to live as a muggle. Well, all right, slightly better than a muggle, but I still had to do without my magic. Stupid Wizardry license laws.

My train of thought was derailed as the sun above got into my eyes. I stopped running and looked around, finding myself outside, in back of the house. I smiled to myself as a warm breeze found its way to me and wrapped itself around me, giving me a brief moment of pure, innocent pleasure. 

I closed my eyes for a moment and stepped from my small aura of happiness, making my way over to the broom shed. I did the small combination on the lock and pulled it down, then off. I smiled a bit as I opened the door and stepped into the grimy shed. Despite the way we had sparingly used it, the shed was in surprisingly neat order. On the back wall was the brooms my father and I used, and along the other walls were some of the brooms that a few of the servants had saved up for and bought.  

I sighed happily and made my way to the back wall where my Nimbus 2001 broom sat. I picked it up and handled it. It had been at least eight months since I really even touched this broom. I was on my house's Quidditch team, playing the position of Seeker. I looked up at my father's broom. It wasn't quite as fast as mine, an older model painted silver with the gold letters spelling out "Artemis 7" etched into the handle. 

Father used to be on Slytherin House team, too. He played as the Chaser. People who have seen my father play have said that he could have played any position he wanted, even Seeker. Father flew with such grace and speed, that is, except when he played as a beater; then you wanted to be nowhere near him. In the house he had countless trophies, medals, and ribbons. He expected me to be the same as him, maybe even better. He always expected nothing than utter, sparkling perfection from me. One tiny slip-up and I'd be fried. 

I shook these thoughts from my head and stepped back outside, shutting and locking the shed behind me. I set my broom level and put one leg over it, then kicked up off the ground, smiling softly to myself as I rose into the air. I could see below me the few dozen acres of land we owned, our stables, and our lake.

I loved that lake. It always brought back such good memories. When I was younger, I used to spend my summers and days off in that lake. I played for hours in those waters. I even caught pneumonia a few times. Even those times never dampened my spirits about swimming. Even though I loved to swim, Flying was always my favorite thing to do. Nothing could even compare to the freedom of flying…

Looking down on the lake, I noticed the girl in the robes from before sitting on the edge of the lake on a rock that I liked to call my pondering stone. Feeling a small bit of intrusion onto my territory, I flew down and circled over her head. 

"Hey! Girl! What do you think you're doing?!" I called out to her, probably a little more roughly than I meant to. 

She looked up at me and widened her eyes, sliding off of my rock and bowing deeply. "_Gomen nasai!_" she said, not lifting her eyes to glance up at me. "…_I…Ittekimasu~!"_

I watched her as she slid off my rock and made an awkward run toward the house. I sighed heavily and rolled my eyes, following her on my broom. "Hey. I didn't say you had to go back inside. Dad gave you the day off, right?"

She stopped running and looked up at me, a bit of curiosity in her eyes. "…_Nani desu ka…?_" She said, cocking her head. She considered my words and calm tone and gave me a beautiful smile. "_Hai… Wakatteru._" She gave a small giggle and brushed some of her long hair from her smooth, flawless face, her actions forcing a small smile to my lips. "_Are? Doushita no, Dureko-sama?_"

I heard her speak my name and shrugged. "I'm fine." I doubt that she understood me, but she smiled all the same and gave a formal bow, making her way back to the mansion anyhow. I smiled after her and then flew toward my rock, landing on its rough, uneven surface and dismounting from my broom. I sat down on my familiar rock and set my broom on the ground, relishing in the heat of the mid-summer sun. 

My satisfaction was short-lived, however as the dead silence of the day was broken and stepped on by my father's booming voice, no doubt heightened by a Sonorus spell. "DRACO SERAPH MALFOY!!" his voice bellowed, "INSIDE! NOW!!"

I swallowed hard and gave a shuddering breath as I slid down from my perch, making my way not-so-bravely toward the Manor.


End file.
